


Decisions

by Jane_Eyre



Series: Decisions [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen, Hospitalization, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Older Brother Sam Winchester, Pre-Stanford, Teen Dean Winchester, Teen Sam Winchester, Teen Winchesters, Younger Brother Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-02
Updated: 2010-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/83888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jane_Eyre/pseuds/Jane_Eyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Would Sam have still gone to college if he were the older brother?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Yet another story written for the Dean-focused hurt/comfort comment-fic meme over at [](http://community.livejournal.com/hoodie_time/profile)[](http://community.livejournal.com/hoodie_time/)**hoodie_time**. Also, while there is a legend about a black dog in Meriden, CT, it isn't quite the same as in my story.

_**SPN: Decisions**_  
**Title:** Decisions  
**Category:** AU, General, Hurt/Comfort  
**Characters:** Dean, John, Sam  
**Rating:** K+  
**Summary:** Would Sam have still gone to college if he were the older brother?  
**Word count:** 1680  
**Disclaimer:** Kripke still hasn't given them to me, so I still don't own them.

 

Sam was sitting beside Dean's hospital bed thinking about his life. He had graduated high school the month before and all his dad had said to him about it was that it sure made hunting easier now that he didn't have to deal with Sam always wanting to do schoolwork first. Of course, Sam hadn't told John that he was going to college and would be gone in a few weeks. Sam planning his escape was probably partly to blame for what happened on their latest hunt.

They had been investigating a black dog in Meriden, CT since they were going to be passing close by on their way out of the state anyway. From the research John had done, it looked like the black dog was connected to people falling off a cliff face to their death. John had told Sam to take Dean with him and head up one trail while John took the other trail, and they would meet up at the top of the cliff face. John had been hoping one of them would see the black dog before they reached that far and would be able to kill it.

Dean had been excited because this was the first real hunt he had been allowed to go on and was hoping he would get to kill the black dog, so he could show his dad that he should be allowed to hunt with them more often. Dean kept wandering ahead of Sam in his eagerness, and Sam got tired of telling him to slow down, so Sam just let him go ahead, while he tried to figure out the best way to tell his family that he was leaving to go to college soon. Sam had used the light on his watch to see what time it was and noticed that they had been hiking for almost an hour, when he looked back up he didn't see Dean. Sam couldn't yell for Dean without alerting the black dog of their position, so he had tried to just move faster. Sam had just rounded a bend in the trail when he saw Dean backing toward the cliff's edge while raising his gun, but the black dog was advancing on him and before Dean could get a clear shot, the dog lunged at him and Dean went over the edge.

"DEAN!" Sam yelled as he took off running. All he could think about was trying to reach Dean; thankfully, John had reached them at the same time.

John didn't know what was happening, but he had heard Sam and seen him run right toward the black dog without even trying to shoot it. John didn't have time to get a clear shot at the dog, but he thought he had at least wounded it. He didn't have time to finish the dog off though since he had to find out what had happened to Dean. The dog had taken off, and he wasn't going to waste time chasing after it now. Sam was already looking over the cliff edge when John got there, and John was terrified of what he would see, he had been hoping that Dean would walk out of the woods, but he knew by the way Sam had yelled for Dean and the fact that Sam was at the edge; that it could only mean one thing.

Sam had his flashlight out and was searching for Dean when John walked up beside Sam. He finally spotted Dean on a ledge about 20 feet down, from that distance Sam and John couldn't tell if he was still alive or not. Sam wanted to climb down and check on Dean, but John stopped him by reminding him that he had more medical experience, and Sam would be of more use running back to the car to get rope so they could get Dean back up the cliff face. John started carefully making his way down to Dean, while Sam took off running back to the car to get the rope. John wanted to rush down the cliff face, but he knew it wouldn't help Dean if he were to fall while trying to hurry. When John reached Dean, he was unconscious but he was breathing and his pulse was strong. After examining Dean as closely as he could, he knew that Dean had a broken leg and at least a concussion, but couldn't tell about anything else. He really wished that they didn't have to move Dean, but he knew him and Sam would be locked up for trespassing and putting Dean in danger if they called 911, then he would never see Dean again. From his exam, he didn't find anything to suggest that moving Dean would cause permanent damage, but he hoped that Dean was unconscious when they moved him because he knew it would be painful.

Sam ran the whole way to the car and back, and by the time he had made it back to the edge of the cliff his legs felt like jelly.

"Dad, I'm back and have the rope. How is Dean?" Sam called down to John.

"Dean's got a broken leg and at least a concussion, but he woke up briefly and I think he'll be okay. Secure the rope like I showed you and then lower it down."

Dean thankfully didn't wake up again until they were on the way back to the car, when he did wake up John could see the pain written all over his face, but Dean didn't complain. John carried him all the way back to the impala before laying him down in the backseat. Sam climbed in the back with Dean and gently placed Dean's head in his lap.

John used a fake insurance card at the hospital and made up a story of Dean trying to sneak out of a second story window and falling. He said the reason he didn't call 911 was because they lived out in the middle of nowhere, and he was afraid it would take the ambulance too long to find them. Thankfully, the doctor seemed to buy the story. John and Sam were stuck waiting for what seemed like hours, before the doctor came back out to tell them that Dean was going to be fine. They had set his leg and put it in a cast, and while Dean had suffered a concussion, it didn't seem too severe, but they would keep Dean overnight for observation just to be on the safe side.

Once they made it to Dean's room, and John had seen with his own eyes that Dean was fine, John told Sam that he had to go back out there and finish the job. Sam was supposed to stay with Dean, and John would be back in the morning to get them. John also informed Sam that he hadn't forgotten about the fact that the reason Dean was hurt was that Sam hadn't been watching him, and Sam would answer for it later.

Even after sitting there for hours, thinking about everything the only thing Sam really knew was that now was the time to leave. He had really wanted to take Dean with him, but even if Dean agreed to go, which he wouldn't, there was no way that Sam would be able to afford to take care of both of them while going to college. So his only option was to hope that John would settle down in one spot with Dean, once Sam wasn't around to watch Dean anymore. If nothing else, Sam was hoping he could track them down when he finished college, and that way he could at least make sure Dean had a chance to go to college, too. Sam figured that Pastor Jim or Bobby would tell him where he could find Dean when the time came. By the time Dean next woke up, Sam knew that he had to go ahead and tell Dean. That way he could be gone before John got back because if he waited for John to come back, all that would happen would be a big fight between them with the result still being Sam leaving, and Sam didn't want Dean to have to witness that on top of everything else.

"Dean I need to tell you something," Sam said when Dean was fully awake.

"What?"

"I'm leaving for college."

"No Sam, you can't. Talk to dad I'm sure he'll let you take some courses from time to time if you really want."

"Dean, I've got a full scholarship to Stanford, and I can't pass that up besides you've got to know dad doesn't want me to go to college. Hell, he barely wanted me to finish high school. I wish you could come with me, but there's no way I can afford to take care of you while in school. Once I graduate college, I'll come back for you though."

"Don't leave Sam. Wait to talk to dad in a few weeks because things may be different then. Besides if you leave what will happen to me if dad stays gone on a hunt for too long, you know people won't let me stay by myself for long."

"Dean I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'm leaving now before dad gets back, but if you ever need me, you can call me. I'll find some way to come for you, if you really need me. I love you," Sam said as he got up from the chair that he had been sitting for hours in and headed for the door.

Sam figured if he left now he could hitch a ride back to the motel they were staying at and be gone before John had time to catch up to him. He could hear Dean calling for him as he walked down the hall and it was the hardest thing he had ever done not to turn around and walk back to Dean, but he felt like he could help Dean more by going to school.


End file.
